Textile drafting apparatus



July 6, 1965 w. NUTTER ETAL TEXTILE DRAFTING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 12, 19 62 WRLTER m JOHN A/you uwrma Mlle; L M44- mroam'ys.

July 6, 1965 w. NUTTER ETAL TEXTILE DRAFTING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 12, 1962 July 6, 1965 w. NUTT ER ETAL 3,192,573

TEXTILE DRAFTING APPARATUS Filed July 12, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ""IIIIIIIH' 31 mum Ill FER MHN Bmvyo/v I/WE'AJ URS.

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July 6,1965 w. NUTTER ETAL TEXTILE DRAFTING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 12, 1962 on H mwmNM, R ENN R U H E k 0 0V F W N WA United States Patent 3,192,573 TEXTELE DING APPARATUS Walter Nutter, Simonstone, near Burnley, and John Benyon, Bolton, England, assignors to T.M.M. (Research) Limited, Oldham, Lancashire, England, a British company Filed Juiy 12, 1952, Ser. No. 2%,396 2 Claims. ((11. 19-261) This invention relates to textile drafting apparatus, its object being to provide a simple drafting apparatus which will provide effective control of the fibres in the drafting zone, and will be easily adjustable to cater for a wide range of staple lengths of material.

According to our invention, in a drafting system including a pair of holding rollers and a pair of drafting rollers, the drafting zone includes stationary pressure means by which the fibres are contacted and which is so positioned that the fibres, in passing through the drafting zone, contact one of the holding rollers over an arc of its surface, then pass in contact with the pressure means and thence to the nip of the delivery rollers substantially along the common tangent plane thereof. The stationary pressure means may comprise a circular or other section bar, which is held at a fixed distance from the centre of the upper holding roller, and the upper holding roller may be adjustable in position around the axis of the lower holding roller so as to vary the nip position of the holding rollers, .the extent of the arc of contact of the fibres on the lower holding roller, and the degree of deflection of the fibres from the shortest path between the respective nips of the holding rollers and the drafting or delivery rollers.

The lower holding rollers and the lower drafting rollers may be of larger diameter than is customary and the upper rollers respectively co-operating therewith can be adjusted backwardly and forwardly about the bottom roller axes to adjust the length between the nips. This arrangement, in conjunction with the control effected by the pressure means, will allow either short or long staple fibres to be processed.

The inter-roller setting of the bottom rollers may be fixed, and all adjustments required to suit different staple lengths may be effected by moving either one or both of the top rollers around the axis of its or their respective bottom roller or rollers. The same adjustment may be effective to regulate the degree of pressure exerted upon the fibres by the stationary pressure means.

The manner in which the invention is carried into effect is hereinafter described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a front elevation of one form of drafting apparatus incorporating the invention, as seen with the front drafting rollers removed and certain of the parts broken away. FIG. 2 is a section on the line I[II of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a similar view to FIG. 2 of a modified embodiment and FIG. 4 is a plan thereof. FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating the relative positions of the rollers when adjusted to suit different lengths of staple.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the apparatus comprises the usual feed rollers 10, 11, a pair of holding rollers 12, 13 and the front drafting or delivery rollers 14, 15. The lower rollers 11, 13 and 15 are supported by blocks 111, 131, 151 which are mounted upon the stand 16. The companion upper rollers 10, 12 and 14 are supported by members 101, 121 and 141 which are slidably mounted upon the plane upper faces of said blocks 111, 131, 151 so that the spacing of the upper rollers may be adjusted by movement of the members 101, 121, 141 in a fore-and-aft direction. Loading pressure is applied to the upper rollers 10, 12, 14

by means of a frame incorporating two parallel arms 17 which are pivotably connected to the fixed structure 18 at 19 and which are joined at their front ends by a crossbar 20. Each arm 17 is provided in respect of each upper roller with a unit 21 housing a spring-pressed plunger 22 which is arranged to apply loading pressure to the journal of the respective roller when the loading frame occupies the operative position shown in FIG. 2. A catch 23 is provided to engage the cross-bar 20 to hold the frame in this position.

In the principal drafting zone between the, holding rollers 12, 13 and the drafting rollers 14, 15 there is provided a pressure bar 24, which is located in such position as to deflect the material being drafted (shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 by the reference numeral 25) from a straight line path between the nip ,5 and the nip Said pressure bar 24 is carried at its ends by bell-crank levers 26, 27 arranged to pivot about bushes 28 in which the ends of the roller 12 are received. The levers 27 are also used to support a rubbing strip or clearer 29 for said roller 12, said strip being aflixed to a crossmember 30 which spans between the levers 27 at opposite sides. Pressure is applied to the bar 24 in operation by springs 31 which are secured .to the arms 17 and are stressed when the loading frame is in the operative position.

The stationary pressure bar 24 is situated in a position such that the part thereof about which the fibres are defiected, lies outside the shortest path between the nip of the holding rollers and the nip of the drafting rollers. Such an arrangement is effective to cause the fibres to pass over an appreciable arc of the surface of the holding rollers 12 thus prolonging the control over the fibres which is exerted by the holding rollers 12. After the fibres leave the pressure bar 24 they proceed towards the nip of the drafting rollers 14, 15 along a line which is substantially in the common tangent plane of the latter avoiding appreciable contact with said rollers 14, 15 before entering their nip, thus ensuring that the fibres are not disturbed by contact with a roller surface before being positively gripped in the nip.

By slidable adjustment of the settings of the members 121 the roller 12 may be adjusted backwardly or forwardly about the axis of the roller 13, with corresponding variation in the length of the distance between the nip and the nip Thus, for short staple material the bar 24 may be moved forward and the front top roller 14 moved back as shown in FIG. 5 so that the fibres leaving the bar 24 have a direct entry into the nip For long staples, the parts are adjusted to the position shown in FIG. 6, in which the bar 24 is set back and the roller 14 moved forward to increase the length of the drafting zone, the pressure of the bar 24 being reduced. On such adjustment the pressure bar 24 will. automatically assume a new position, its distance from the rollers 12, 13 remaining unaltered. The position of the roller 14 may be regulated to ensure that the material 25 enters the nip of the rollers 14, 15 along their common tangent plane, whatever the position of the bar 24.

The rollers 10, 11 are used to provide a preliminary drafting zone and their distance from the holding rollers 12, 13 may be altered to suit the staple length of the fibres being processed. Again, the roller 10 may be capable of adjustment about the axis of the roller 11 when the staple length is changed.

The ends of the roller 13 are supported in bushes 132 against which the ends of the bar 24 are arranged to bear in its operative position. The spacing between the bar 24 and the surface of the roller 13 may be varied if necessary to suit different working requirements, by

substituting bushes 132 of smaller or larger external diameter.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the pressure bar 24 is mounted at each end upon an asymmetrical flange 321 which forms part .of a socket 32 in which the adjacent journal of the roller 12 is received, the end of the bar 24 being arranged to rest against an abutment or stop 33 which is fixed to the side of the roller support 221. Pressure is applied to the flange 321 by a spring 31 carried by the arm 17.

What we cla'nn as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Textile drafting apparatus for processing fibres comprising a pair of holding rollers, including an upper and a lower holding roller, and a pair of drafting rollers including an upper and a lower drafting roller, spaced therefrom, the upper and lower of each pair of rollers contacting each other at their respective nips, pressure means positioned between said pairs of rollers for defleeting the fibres being processed from a straight-line.

path between the nips and causing the fibres to contact one of the holding rollers over an arc of its surface and to align the fibres, as they pass between the nips of the pairs of rollers, with the common tangent plane of the drafting rollers at their nip, said pressure means including a non-rotatable adjustable pressure bar, means for holding said pressure bar a fixed distance from the surface of the upper holding roller, said bar holding means including a carrier connected to each end portion of the pressure bar to support said bar, said carriers being rotatable about the axis of one of the holding rollers, spring means for applying pressure to said carriers, said carriers comprising a bell crank lever one end of said bell crank lever being connected to said pressure bar and the other end serving as an abutment for said spring means, and means for adjusting the upper holding roller about the axis of the lower holding roller to vary the position of the nip of the holding, rollers, the extent of the arc of contact of the fibres on the lower holding roller, and the degree of deflection of the fibres by said adjustable pressure bar to thereby direct said fibres into thecommon plane of tangency between said drafting rollers.

2. Textile drafting apparatus for processing fibres comprising a pair of holding rollers, including an upper and a lower holding roller, and a pair of drafting rollers including an upper and a lower drafting roller, spaced therefrom, the upper and lower of each pair of rollers contacting each other at their respective nips, pressure means positioned between said pairs of rollers for defiecting the fibres being processed from a straight line path between the nips and causing the fibres to contact one of the holding rollers over an arc of its surface and to align the fibres, as they pass between the nips of the pairs of rollers, with the common tangent plane of the drafting rollers at their nip, said pressure means including a non-rotatable, adjustable pressure bar, means for holding said pressure bar a fixed distance from the surface of the upper holding roller, said bar holding means including a carrier connected to each end portion of the pressure bar, to support said bar, said carriers being rotatable about the axis of one of the holding rollers, spring means for applying pressure to said carriers, said carriers comprising an asymmetrical flange having a socket therein into which the upper holding roller is journaled, said asymmetrical flange providing a mounting for said pressure bar and an abutment for said spring means, and means for adjusting the upper holding roller about the axis of the lower holding roller to vary the position of the nip of the holding rollers, the extent of the arc of contact of the fibres on the lower holding roller, and the degree of deflection of the fibres by said adjustable pressure bar to thereby direct said fibres into the common plane of tangency between said drafting rollers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner. 

1. TEXTILE DRAFTING APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING FIBERS COMPRISING A PAIR OF HOLDING ROLLERS, INCLUDING AN UPPER AND A LOWER HOLDING ROLLER, AND A PAIR OF DRAFTING ROLLERS INCLUDING AN UPPER AND A LOWER DRAFTING ROLLER, SPACED THEREFROM, THE UPPER AND LOWER OF EACH PAIR OF ROLLERS CONTACTING EACH OTHER AT THEIR RESPECTIVE NIPS, PRESSURE MEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID PAIRS OF ROLLERS FOR DEFLECTING THE FIBERS BEING PROCESSED FROM A STRAIGHT-LINE PATH BETWEEN THE NIPS AND CAUSING THE FIBERS TO CONTACT ONE OF THE HOLDING ROLLERS OVER AN ARC OF ITS SURFACE AND TO ALIGN THE FIBERS, AS THEY PASS BETWEEN THE NIPS OF THE PAIRS OF ROLLERS, WITH THE COMMON TANGENT PLANE OF THE DRAFTING ROLLERS AT THEIR NIP, SAID PRESSURE MEANS INCLUDING A NON-ROTATABLE ADJUSTABLE PRESSURE BAR, MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID PRESSURE BAR A FIXED DISTANCE FROM THE SURFACE OF THE UPPER HOLDING ROLLER, SAID BAR HOLDING MEANS INCLUDING A CARRIER CONNECTED TO EACH END PORTION OF THE PRESSURE BAR TO SUPPORT SAID BAR, SAID CARRIERS BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT THE AXIS OF ONE OF THE HOLDING ROLLERS, SPRING MEANS FOR APPLYING PRESSURE TO SAID CARRIERS, SAID CARRIER COMPRISING A BELL CRANK LEVER ONE END OF SAID BELL CRANK LEVER BEING CONNECTED TO SAID PRESSURE BAR AND THE OTHER END SERVING AS AN ABUTMENT FOR SAID SPRING MEANS, AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE UPPER HOLDING ROLLER ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE LOWER HOLDING ROLLER TO VARY THE POSITION OF THE NIP OF THE HOLDING ROLLERS, THE EXTENT OF THE ARC OF CONTACT OF THE FIBERS ON THE LOWER HOLDING ROLLER, AND THE DEGREE OF DEFLECTION OF THE FIBERS INTO THE COMMON PLANE OF TANGENCY BETWEEN SAID DRAFTING ROLLERS. 